Mexican black-doom metallers HAGEL will release The Veil of Shadows, a new five-song mini-album, on November 6 via Personal Records on CD format. The first track, "The Withering Tongues," is streaming now at Personal Records' Bandcamp.
Formed in Monterrey in 1995, HAGEL fused dark melodies and dense atmospheres in the melodic vein of '90s black metal before dissolving in 2000. Guitarist Carlos Velázquez reactivated the project in 2014, and the band's debut album Veneration of the Black Light — built primarily from material written between 1995 and 1997 — arrived in 2021 through Personal Records to praise for its authenticity. In 2024, Iveth Herrera joined as lead vocalist, freeing Iván Saldaña to focus exclusively on guitars, and this renewed lineup completed The Veil of Shadows.
Drawing on the atmospheric darkness of early MOONSPELL, ROTTING CHRIST, OPHTHALAMIA, MORTUARY DRAPE, KATATONIA, EMPYRIUM, SAMAEL and TIAMAT, the mini-album crystalizes the band's ritualistic, melancholic identity across a swift 21-minute canvas — arguably their most powerful, poignant material to date.
Preorders are available here.
The Veil of Shadows tracklisting:
- The Withering Tongues [5:02]
- Flesh Of The Gods [4:45]
- Effluvium [4:28]
- Obsidian Mirrors (The Veil Of Shadows) [5:01]
- Echoes From Beyond The Veil (Chaconne in D Minor) [1:45]